Book-holder.



PATENTED MAR. 31.- 1908.

H. B. UTZ. BOOK HOLDER APPLICATION rum) ulml. 1908.

HENRIETTA BODLEY UTZ, OF COLLEGE HILL, OHIO.

BOOK-HOLDER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented March 31, 1908.

Application filed January 31, 1908. Serial No. 413,501.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRI TTA BODLEY UTZ, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing atCollege Hill, in the county of Hamilton and State ofOhio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Book-Holders,of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to book holders, and the object is to provide asimple and convenient device of this character, it being more especiallydesigned for use in the kitchen for holding a cook book or other mattercontaining recipes, to which occasional reference .must be made duringthe progress of the work, holding the leaves of the book stationary, andeliminating the necessity of repeatedly touching the book with thehands, thus avoiding interru tion to the work and allowing the book to ekept clean.

My invention consists in a substantially rectangular frame provided withmeans for securing it to the wall and having its lower part divergentfrom the wall and provided with a ledge upon which the book is adaptedto be supported, the ledge having clamping members pivoted thereon, andthe clamping members being provided with springs to press them againstthe book or other article to be held, and being independent of eachother to allow of equalization of pressure on the book or other article,and of independent release, as well as in the parts and the details ofconstruction and arrangement of parts, as will hereinafter be more fullydescribed and claimed.

In the drawing :Figure 1 is a front elevation of a device embodying myinvention.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of same, the

straight broken line representing the surface of the Wall or otherobject to which the device is adapted to be attached, and the dottedlines representing one of the clamping members in raised position. Fig.3 is a perspective view illustrating the use of my invention, parts ofthe device being represented by dotted lines.

The rectangular frame is constructed of right and left parts 1 and, 2,which are joined by upper and lower sleeves 3 and 4. However, it .willbe understood that this frame may be constructed of one piece of wire,in which case only one joint would be necessary instead of two jointswhere the sleeves 3 and 4 are provided; or any well known means ofjoining the ends of the wire or wires may be used. On the upper part. ofthe frame composed of the members 1 and 2 are the loops 5 and 6 formedby properly bending the wires forming the members 1 and 2, and whichloops are ada ted to have screws 7 and 8 passed throng them, asillustrated in Fig. 3 of the drawing, for securing the device to thewall or any other vertical surface. E tending transversely of,the framenear its middle is a broad, fiat brace 9 which is secured t0 the sideparts of the members 1 and 2 by bending it around them, whileimmediately below the junction of the base 9 with the side parts of themembers 1 and 2, these members are bent in- SllC'li a manner that Whenthe device is attached to the wall, as above described, the lower partsof the members 1 and 2 diverge from the wall, so that the lower part ofthe frame is thrown outward from the wall or other vertical s11 port,and the book or other article held in the older is made to occupy aposition most convenient for observation. Farther down the members 1 and2 are given another bend which,however, is more acute than thatimmediately below the brace 9, so that-the lower secure togetherthereby.

At the sides of the sleeve 4 and about mid- I way between it and theside members of the parts 1 and 2, the clamping members 11 and 12 aremounted on the transverse arts of the members 1 and 2 by being provi edwith loops 13 and 14, and 15 and 16, respectively, whlch take around thetransverse parts of the members 1 and 2, respectively. These clampingmembers 11 and 12 extend. upward and are curved so that they presentconvex sides toward the brace 9 and the main part of the frame, each ofthe members 11 and 12 being preferably formed of a single piece of wirebent at its middle to form two parts, which parts diverge from the bendtowardtheir ends upon which the loops 13 and 14, and 15 and 16,respectively, are formed. To give those clamping members theirconvexity, they are then bent bodily at right angles to the abovedescribed middle bend. The curve which gives the convexity to themembers is such that when a book or other article, the thickness ofwhich may vary, is inserted between the clam ing members 11 and 12 andthe main part 0 the frame, these 6531 'and'12 will resent a smooth,curved surface to the boo r or other article, regardless of itsthickness. Surrounding the transverse parts of the frame, between theloo s 13 an an between the loops 15 and 16 of the clamping member 12,are the coil springs 17 and 18, respectively. Each of the springs hasthe part adjacent its end nearest to the sleeve 4, or the inner end,coiled around the adjacent parts of its respective clamping member,while the other end of each spring extends backward and is fastened to atransverse lowerbrace 19 bybeing looped around it, this lower brace 19being fastened to the side arts of the members 1 and 2, but being 00 edaround them near their acute bends, as illustrated in the drawing. Asshown, both of the spiral springs 17 and 18 are wound around the lowertransverse parts of the members 1 and 2 in the same direction, and conseuently, in order to give the same direction 0 action on their respectiveclamping members, the spring 17 passes from under the lower transversepart of the member 1, backward to the lower transverse brace 19, whilethe spring 18 passes from 'over the lower transverse part of the member2, backward'to the lower transverse brace 19. The springs 17 and 18being thus secured, they tend to normally press the clamping memvbers 11and 12, respectively, back toward the broad flat brace 9, and when noarticle is placed in the holder, these clamping memers will bear.against said brace 9, as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawing.

When it is desired to insert an article, such as a cook book, in theholder, the clamping members 11 and 12 may be drawn forward by placin afinger on the upper end of each one, and rawing them away from the brace9. U on being released, being independent of eac other, the clampingmembers 11 and 12 will then adjust themselves to the respective sides ofthe book, such as the sides 20 and 21, respectively, of the book 22, asillustrated in Fig. 3, and will hold both sides with equal firmnesswhether the book be opened in the middle so that the two sides are equalin thickness, or whether the book be opened near the front'or back sothat one side 18 considerably thicker than the other.

When it is desired to turn one or more pages of the book, it is notnecessary to remove the book from the holder, but the clamping members11 and 12 being inde pendent, the one on the side of the book wherethepage or pages are to be turned may be raised, while the otherclamping member holds the book firmly in place, and the page or pagesmay be turned so as to lie over the other clamping member which holdsthe book in place. The clamping member which hold it in while the othermember which was holding the book in p ace may be raised and the page orpages allowed to come under it, after which it may be al- 14 of theclamping member 11,- lowed to resume its clamping position. By

diverge from the article being held, so that they are convenientlyengageable by the fingers for the operation of the device, and allow thefingers to be out of the way while holding the clamping members back toinsert the book or other article to be held.

As illustrated, the frame of my improved book holder is adapted to bearagainst the wall or other surface upon which it is supported with itsloops 5 and 6, and, in order to allow it to be firmly supported on anysurface, whether uneven or not, I prefer to rovide it with a threepointbearing, the t 'rd bearing being constituted by a book 23, which may beformed as shown by constructing the transverse brace 19 of two parts 19and 19 twisted together at 24 in the middle, the part 19 beingconsiderably longer than the part 19, so that it extends below the twist24 and is bent to form the hook 23, the rear of which bears against thewall and forms the third point of support as indicated at 25 in Fig. 2.The end of the hook 23 is pointed, and the hook 23 is given such a shapethat it forms a suitable filing hook, and in the use of my device in thekitchen as a cook book holder, this filing hook will be found convenientfor filingsales slips or other papers which accumulate and which shouldbe preserved in the regular order of their receipt and in position forready reference.

As indicated in Fig. 1 of the drawing, my

improved device may be made to serve the additional purpose of anadvertising medium, the advertising matter being placed on the broadtransverse brace 9, as shown.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a book holder, a frame provided with means for attaching it to avertical surface and having its lower part divergent from the lowersurface when thus attached, and clamping members pivotally mounted onthe lower part of the frame and movable independent of each other,substantially as and for the purposes specified.

2. In a book holder, a frame provided with means for attaching it to avertical surface and having its lower part divergent from the verticalsurface when attached thereto, and bent to form a ledge, and clampingmembers pivotally mounted on the ledge and movable mdependent of eachother, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

3. In a book holder, a frame provided with means for attaching it to avertical surface and having its lower part divergent from the verticalsurface when attached thereto, and bent to form a ledge, a lowertransverse brace attached to the sides of the frame adjacent to theledge, and a hook on the lower transverse brace adapted to bear againstthevertical surface and form one of the points of support of said frame,substantially as and for the urposes specified.

4. In a book holder, a ame provided with means for attaching it toavertical surface and havin its lower partdivergent from the verticalsurface when attached thereto, a broad flat brace attached to the sidesof the frame, and clam ing members pivotally mounted on the ower part ofthe frame movable independent of each other and adapted to bear towardthe broad flat brace, is lubstantially as and for the purposes speci- 5.In a book holder, a frame provided with means for attaching it to avertical surface and having itslower part divergent from the lowersurface when attached thereto and provided with a ledge to form a booksupport, said ledge terminating forwardly in the lower transverse partof the frame, clamping members pivotall mounted on the lower transversepart of t e frame, curved so that they present convex sides toward thevertical surface and being movable independently of each other, wherebythey are, respectively, adapted to bear with equal facility regardlessof the thickness of the book or of the relative thicknesses of therespective sides of the book to be held, substantially as and for thepurposes specified. 6. In a book holder, a frame provided with loops forattaching it to a vertical surface, having its lower part diverging fromthe vertical surface when attached thereto and bent to form a ledge onits lower part, the forward part of which ledge terminates in the lowertransverse part of the frame, a

mediately above the divergent part thereof, a lower transverse bracesecured to the frame, clamping members pivotally mounted on the lowertransverse part of the frame movable independently of each other andeach consisting in a single piece bent to form divergent parts whichterminate in loops taking around the lower transverse part of the frameto form the pivotal connection therewith, a spiral spring surroundingthe lower transverse part of the frame between the loops of eachclamping member, each of said springs having the part near one of itsends wound around one of the parts of its respective clamping membersand the part near its other end secured to the lower transverse brace,each of the clamping members being curved bodily to resent a convexsurface toward the broad. at brace, and the lower transverse brace beingprovided with a hook adapted to bear against the vertical surface andform a point of support for the frame, substantially as and for thepurposes specified.

HENRIETTA BODLEY UTZ. Witnesses:

JAMEs N. RAMSEY, CLARENCE PERDEW.

broad flat brace secured to the frame im--

